Thursday 6 January 2011 07.27 EST
First published on Thursday 6 January 2011 07.27 EST

A school dinner lady who was sacked after telling a couple that their seven-year-old daughter had been tied to a fence and hit with a skipping rope by a group of boys has won her claim for unfair dismissal, it was announced today.

Carol Hill was suspended from Great Tey primary school, Essex, after the incident in June 2009, and then dismissed by governors after telling a local newspaper what had happened to her, an employment tribunal heard previously.

Unison, which represented Hill, said the panel had found that her dismissal was procedurally unfair because the school did not carry out a reasonable investigation into the allegations, and that the disciplinary and appeal hearings were not fair hearings.

The tribunal, sitting in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, heard that the girl appeared to have been tied to a playing field fence by her wrist and then "whipped" across the legs with a skipping rope.

The school's head, Deborah Crabb, said four boys involved had explained that they were playing a game called "prisoners and guards". The incident was not bullying but an "inappropriate game" which went too far, she argued during the three-day hearing.

Crabb sent a letter to the girl's parents saying: "You may wish to know [the girl] had a minor accident today. She was hurt on the right leg and right wrist with a skipping rope."

But Hill gave more detail to the girl's mother at a Scouts meeting outside school, and a written statement to the girl's family – which was passed to police – and then called a newspaper to tell of her suspension, the tribunal heard.

The headteacher told the panel that Hill was sacked for committing the "offence" of "going to the press". Giving details of the incident to the child's parents was a breach of confidentiality which would have earned her a "final warning", she said, but by talking to a journalist she had brought the school into disrepute and had to be dismissed.

The school disputed Hill's claim for unfair dismissal, in which she argued that she was not given a correct notice period and complained that her rights to freedom of expression under European law were infringed.

Unison said the tribunal panel would consider whether Hill should be compensated and reinstated, at a "remedies hearing" next month.

"This is the best new year news I could have," said Hill, who is in her 60s. "I am delighted and very relieved that the tribunal found that I was unfairly dismissed. I have always had the welfare of the children in my care at heart and I still miss working at the school. The 'remedies hearing' will be the last step in a very long and hard journey."

Unison's general secretary, Dave Prentis, said: "It has been a long and very difficult wait for this ruling from the employment tribunal for Carol and her family over Christmas and the new year.

"I am sure they will be very pleased that the wait is over and the tribunal has found in her favour.

"She now faces another month until the remedies hearing and that cannot be easy. Unison has always believed in her case and we will be there to support her at the hearing."